Straw-delivering mechanism



1.]. MOUAWAD.

smw DELIVERING MECHANISM. APPLICATION lflLED, MAY 26. I920- RENEWED JULY20.1921.

1,396,720. Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. J. MOUAWAD. STRAW DELIVERING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAYZB.I920. RENEWED JULY 20,192!- 1,396,720, Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN .1. monawan, or

NASSOUR, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

s'rnaw-nnmvnnme MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed m 26, 1920, Serial no. 384,429. Berie we dluly 20,1921. Serial No. 486,185.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that 1, JOHN J. MoUAwAn, a citizen of theFrench Republic,and resident of Newark,in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Straw- DeliveringMechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dispensing devices for use particularly inholdin and delivering drinking straws, the said nvention having for itsobject the provislonof novel means for housing or holding a stock ofdrinking straws in a manner to protect them from the access of dust orinsects and 1n a sanitary manner, novel means being provided fordischargin or delivering a straw at a time as the de ivering apparatusor mechanismis actuated, the said device being so arranged as to guardagainst the delive'ryof more than one straw at a time thus avoidingundue waste of materials.

A still further object of this invention is to produce a deliveringmechanism asso ciated withmeans for agitating the strawsinthe holder orcontainer to insure proper delivery of the straws to the dischargeopening of the device.

A still further object of this invention is to produce an actuatingmechanism for ef fecting the delivery of the straws and in the provisionof means for holding the delivering mechanism inactive to preventtampering with the said mechanism as might be done by curious persons orchildren to the detriment of the user or proprietor of the device.

still further object of this invention is to produce a device of thecharacter indicated which can be made comparatively inexpensive, whileat the same time, it will possess strength and durability andproveeflicientand satisfactory in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists inthe details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination ofparts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification wherein likecharacters denote corresponding parts in the several views, and inwhich- Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a holder anddistributing device embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates a perspective view of part of the agitating anddelivering mechanism detached from the casing;

Fig. 3 illustrates a transverse sectional view of the said device in itsnormal condition;]

Fig. 4 illustrates a transverse sectional view of the said device on adifferent line from'that of Fig. 3, showing the parts in position fordelivering the straws;

Fig. 5 illustrates a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 with therear wall. of the pedestal removed, and i Fig. 6 illustrates aperspective view of the changed in proportions or configuration withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

The hopper is preferably provided with NEWARK, NEW annsnr assmnon orONE-HALF 'IO ADBO Patented Nov. 8, 1921 stood that these parts may bemodified or a forwardly curved bottom and an apron or partition 15spacedfrom and parallel with a front wall 14:, the width of the space beingpreferably slightly greater than the diameter of the straw so that thestraws could drop into "the space, one above the other vand gravitatetherein upon the removalof the undermost straw and thenext succeedingstraw would be situated in po sition for delivery upon the reactuationof the delivering mechanism.

At the lower edge of the front wall 14: there is an exit opening 16through which straws are delivered in a manner to be presentlyeirplained and the straws are prevented from escaping through thisopening by a door 17 having pintles 18 on its ends which are j ournaledin theend walls of the hopper, and the door-is of such a nature as toclose by gravity and its weight is sufficient to prevent the straws fromforcing it open except when the said straws are pushed by the actuatingmechanism.

Brackets 19 project outwardly under the exit opening and they are curvedas shown so that the'straws will fall on the brackets from whence theycan be removed by the prospective user.

Thestraw actuating or dislodging mecha nism comprises a shaft 20journaled in the base in any appropriate manner and having an arm 21rigid therewith which arm projects through a slot or opening 22 in thebase and is provided with a key 23 which can he pushed for oscillatingthe arm and partially rotating the shaft 20.

Thev shaft 20 is further supplied with upstanding arms 24-24. 'Each ofsaid arms has a plunger 25 connected to it by a pivot 26, and eachplunger projects through an opening 27 in. the bottom of the hopper andis adapted to bear against'the lowermost straw betweenthe partition andthe front wall of the hopper to force the said straw outwardly for thepurpose of discharging it, it being shown in Fig. Vet that'when thisoperation occurs, the door 17 is swung outwardly, it beingunderstood'that the said door returns to its normal position, shown inFig. 3, by'gravity. Each arm is further provided with a shank 28 havingagitating fingers 29 each of which projects through a slot 30 in thebottom of the hopper into position to engage straws in the hopper forthe purpose of agitating them and forcing them toward the dischargeopening. The shaft 20 is further provided with a coil spring 31 havingone end anchored to the 7 said shaft, as at 32, the opposite end of saidspring terminating in an extension 33 which bears against the undersideof the base to maintain-the tension of thespring which is operative toretract the plungers and restore the parts to normal position for arepetition of the operation just described. In order to prevent undueoperationor manipulation of the straw delivering mechanism, a guard .34is slidably mounted in the guide 35 which 7 is secured .tothe innersurface of the base,

anism for amusement, as often occurs with new devices of this character,when an attendant of the store could operatethe guard to prevent thedelivering mechanism being operated.

I claim:

1. In a straw delivering mechanism, a hopper having an inclined bottomand a depending partition at the front edge of the said bottom, the saidhopper having a front wall, the lower part of which is parallel to andspaced from the partition to produce a clearance for the passage ofstraws, the said wall having a discharge opening at the loweredgethereof, a door pivotally mounted in position to guard the saidopening, plungers mounted to operate in conjunction with the lowermoststraw at the discharge opening, arms to which the plungers are pivotallyconnected, fingers carried by the said arms and projecting into thehopper for agitating the straws, and means for oscillating the arms.

2-. In a straw delivering mechanism, a hopper having an inclined bottomand a depending partition at the front edge of the said bottom, the saidhopper having a front wall, the lower part of which is parallel to andspaced from the partition to produce a clearance for the passage ofstraws, the said wall having a discharge opening at the lower edgethereof, a door pivotally mounted in position to guard the said opening,plungers mounted to operate in conjunction with the lowermost straw atthe discharge opening, arms to which the plungers are pivotallyconnected, fingers carried by the said arms and projecting into thehopper for agitating the straws, a shaft on which the arms are carried,an operating arm for partially rotating the shaft and a spring forreturning the parts to normal position.

3. In a straw delivering mechanism, a hopper having an inclined bottomand a depending partition at the front edge of the said bottom, the saidhopper having a front wall, the lower part of which is parallel to andspaced from the partition to produce a clearance for the passage ofstraws, the said wall having a discharge opening at the lower edgethereof, a door pivotally mounted in position to guard said opening,plunger-s mounted to operate in conjunction with the lowermost straw atthe discharge opening, arms to which the plungers are pivotallyconnected, fingers carried by the said arms and projecting into thehopper for agitating the straws, a shaft on which the arms are carried,an operating arm for partially rotating the shaft, a spring forreturning the parts to normal position, means for oscillating thearms,and means for holding the oscillated means against movement.

JOHN J. MOUAWVAD. l/Vitness:

DAVID J. FORMAN, J. P.

